Status Active Width 5.79 m Phone +1 212-278-0730 | State New York Length 18 m Capacity 125 Construction cost 150,000 USD | |
 | ||
Completed 1948September 12, 1948(dedication) Address 1025 6th Ave, New York, NY 10018, USA Similar Congregation Beth Israel West Sid, Congregation Talmud Torah Ad, Fifth Avenue Synagogue, Congregation Ohab Zedek, Park East Synagogue | ||
Millinery Center Synagogue is a Jewish Orthodox synagogue located in the Garment District of New York City.
Contents
History
The synagogue was supported by the many millinery organizations that were based in the neighborhood. A group of these ready-to-wear industry business men had been meeting in various spaces, mostly in a loft on West 36th Street. Their rabbi during this very loosely organized time was Rabbi Moshe Ralbag. In January 1933, the congregation was more formally organized and the name of the synagogue, the Millinery Center Synagogue, was agreed upon, although the meeting place was temporary, at 1011 Sixth Avenue, on the second floor. Moe Brillstein (the father of film producer Bernie Brillstein) became president and started a building fund. At that point the congregation came together and decided to build a synagogue.
Due to the density of millinery businesses in the neighborhood, at its peak, services for daily minyan were typically so heavily attended that the prayer sessions were held in rotating shifts.
Structure
The synagogue was built by H.I. Feldman, a prolific, Yale-educated architect who built thousands of Art Deco and Modernist-style buildings in New York City, notably 1025 Fifth Avenue (between 83rd and 84th Streets) on the Upper East Side and the LaGuardia Houses on the Lower East Side, as well as many buildings that line the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. Feldman and his company, The Feldman Company, also built the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies building (130 East 59th Street) and the United Jewish Appeal building (220 West 58th Street).
There were wartime restrictions on building, so building was postponed for a time until 1947. The building's construction was completed in September 1948, and the synagogue was dedicated on September 12, 1948.
The limestone building itself is narrow, approximately 19 feet wide by 60 feet deep, and cost $150,000 to build. It was notable for having air conditioning.
Current
The synagogue has sold bedding sets on the street in front of the building in an attempt to meet its annual budget. In the winter of 2013-2014, the building suffered water damage.
Rabbinical
Cantor
Presidents
- Moe Brenner, Willow Hat Co.
- Harry Sperling, Lanrose Hat Co.
- 1943-1950: Moe Brillstein
- 1950-1951: David Blum
- 1952-1953: Ernest "Ernie" Moskowitz
- 1953/4-1955/6: Abraham "Abe" Friedenberg
- 1955/6-1957/8: Meyer G. Kantor
- 1957/8-1959: Moe Brillstein
- 1959-: Israel E. Stillman
- Abraham "Abe" Kramer